Despite the west country nickname, Wurzel, 
Paul Hiom was born on the banks of the River Thames at Chiswick in West London, but now resides in Swindon, Wiltshire. The fact that the Fullers Brewery was no more than quaffing distance from his birth place has nothing to do with the latter affliction, however, the lead-choked atmosphere of the city has been blamed for the occasional bouts of madness. Paul considers himself a half-serious specialist who has dabbled in most things fishing-related with varying degrees of success, but is in the main a pike and barbel man with personal bests of 24lb 8oz and 11lb10oz respectively.
I think it’s about time I aired my views regarding PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). There are those people who make it their sole purpose in life to force their opinions onto others in an attempt to put right all the wrong that they believe exists within our society. That includes anything that they personally believe is wrong rather than anything legally or morally wrong. It includes our right to hunt, fish, eat meat, shoot to eat, or shoot to protect our livestock from falling foul of other predators (within the constraints of the law of course).
Local government, in its infinite wisdom, has recently allowed propaganda from PETA into schools. PETA are trying to poison the minds of children with their pathetic and biased opinions. I have always believed that when we are born we are given certain rights and the freedom to choose how we live our lives as responsible human beings. Bestowed upon us by our chosen god is a natural ability to fend for ourselves and to protect and provide for our families, just like all other animals. We need to eat and we have the intelligence to devise humane ways to kill other animals and plants in order to sustain our own lives. This is the way of life for nearly all the species on our planet right down from the minute microbe to the largest mammal. PETA believe that animals are not to be eaten. You try telling that to a kestrel, a lion, a fish or any other animal which relies on eating other animals in order to survive. If they could laugh, I am sure they would. And are we to believe that it is okay for one set of animals to kill other animals to survive, but not humans? Get a life! 
The animal kingdom, of which we are part, could be considered a tough one, but it is the only one we have and we are obliged to live in harmony with it. Man is an animal. He is also a hunter and his physical appearance is such that he has evolved as the perfect hunter over a period of millions of years. The fact that organised providers and farmers now harvest mans food for him is just a convenience bought about by changes in the structure of the community and demand for food. It does not mean that the desire to hunt to survive has gone, it is just sitting in the background pending the time when it may need to come to the fore once more.
That fishing is a form of hunting there can be no doubt, but like many forms of hunting it has now become a sport or pastime; the original purpose of it was to kill to provide food and there are many individuals who still fish for this very reason. Due to the pressures created by increasing populations and demand for food, we have created ways of harvesting food and fish to meet this demand and also to try to earn a living and profit. As such, we do not need to hunt for our own food any longer as it is obtained for us and we pay for it with money earned serving the community in other ways. It has become easy to forget that we kill animals for food, such is the packaging and appearance of some food items we buy.
As communities have developed, it has been long understood that to suppress man’s natural instinct to hunt would most likely lead to extreme frustrations with undesirable effects. This is the reason why communities even now on your new local housing development, are built with certain amenities and outlets that provide activities and sports to replace those hunting activities lost due to the progress of mankind. Our skills are honed to be competitive and results-driven, except that nowadays the stakes are higher, competition harder and the results more difficult to achieve as bosses move the goal posts in an attempt to get more from their employees. The rot sets and all that frustration needs an escape. Enter angling!
Coarse angling is one of the greatest releases for man’s natural hunting instinct and the stresses of daily life. Not only that, it provides man with an ability to hunt without causing any harm to society or the environment. Modern day fishing is almost totally geared towards the protection of the fish and their environment, with barbless or micro-barbed hooks, unhooking mats, safe landing and keep nets and an assortment of other products that ensure the quarry are returned to their domain fit, healthy and unharmed by the experience of being caught. Surely this is an ethical treatment of fish?
There is no scientific evidence anywhere that proves that fish feel pain and, in fact, there are reports like those which have even been instigated by the RSPCA, such as ‘The Medway Report’, which have proven inconclusive’. Fish are a cold blooded primitive vertebrate, and even without scientific evidence it is clear that fish do not feel pain. Could you pull against the force of a hook and line if you were in pain (I quote Barrie Rickards), could you eat a spiny perch without wincing as the spines stick in your mouth or throat as you swallowed, could you wriggle free from the grasp of a pike’s jaw only to rejoin your shoal damaged and carry on feeding. No, you couldn’t, but fish do!
Whilst PETA, are working to achieve their aims for a total ban on worldwide angling, we should all continue wherever possible to work for the worldwide continuation of one of the worlds most popular sports and pastimes. The aims of PETA are most definitely misguided where angling is concerned and are based solely on their opinion. They are not interested in your views as an angler. They do not see the benefits of angling to the community because they do not understand them. They are ignorant, they are financially supported by the ignorant and they are a danger to the balance and harmony of the community and the quality of life for a great number of us.
So, like me, write to your local MP’s and tell them how important fishing is to your quality of life and how much people can benefit from fishing. Let’s give Peta, Peta Pumpkin Eater the fight of their lives by preventing the spread of their propaganda.
Wurzel (fish catcher, fish and meat eater by design and nature lover)
